I felt that the question ‘why don’t you see white dog poo anymore?’ should not have made it through moderation, considering that we had received over 700 other questions for answering, and they were significantly more relevant to cancer research and science in general than that one. For instance, I have received questions about wormholes, time travel, abortion and pain due to cancer – I felt that the question was a flippant one which didn’t need answering at that time. Had I had somewhat less than 700 questions to get through, I might have felt differently. I don’t think that what I said was ‘mean’, but I was frustrated that I didn’t think the moderators were being selective enough.

Taking part is IAS has meant a significant time commitment out of my full-time studies, which I am more than happy to give if I feel that the outcome is positive and useful. So I am happy to address any genuine science related question (or question I am happy to answer if it has a positive outcome, like getting to know me better). However, that question was so throwaway and uninteresting (given the gravity and thoughtfulness of so many of the other questions) I didn’t feel that my time should have been given over to addressing it. Also remember that we scientists don’t often know the answers to your questions, so must research it properly before answering. Researching the answer to that question seemed unnecessary in the wider context of the competition.

I am sorry if you think that my comments were ‘mean’, but they were simply directed at the moderators, and not at whoever asked it. I also hope that you eventually find out why you don’t see white dog poo any more.

Comments

I’m sorry, it was just asking a question that was on my mind at the time. I didn’t mean for it to be uninteresting or anything not to do with Cancer but I was just interested in knowing the answer.
I’m sorry for the uproar it has caused over twitter and on here. My apologies again,
ScienceTube145 – Celine.

No harm done. Like I said, I only felt it was uninteresting in the context of the other questions being asked, which were often very serious and more relevant to my expertise, and should have been moderated given the volume of questions we had to answer.

It is a perfectly valid question, though.

Look, to make up for any upset, why don’t I just answer it now:

Apparently, it is because of a change in dog food composition; because of regulations which came around during the BSE crisis, dog food contains less bone than it used it. Now, the reason the poo goes white is because it evaporates, leaving behind the calcium that was present in bone. Hence, if dog food contains no more bone, there is no calcium left behind – and no white dog poo! Also, if dog poo is getting cleared up quicker, then there is less chance of it going white.

There – hope that helped. Again, no offense meant and I hope you continue to enjoy learning about science and asking probing questions!

We really appreciate the amount of time and effort all of the scientists have put into answering all the questions to such an excellent standard, particularly in this zone as it has been so busy. The volume of activity in this zone was unexpected and we needed to be more selective about which questions were allowed through from the start. However, the question was approved in principle because we want the students to be free to ask any question that they want to know the answer to. We are sorry for any annoyance or upset caused and hope this hasn’t spoiled anyone’s enjoyment of the event.